An Inanda family is devastated and demanding justice for their daughter, Athabile Khanyi, 17, a grade 11 pupil at Makhapha Combined School in Maphephetheni, who succumbed to suicide after being kidnapped and raped, dying at Dr Pixley Seme Memorial Hospital in KwaMashu on June 12, 2025, after swallowing pills. Her sister, Ntombifikile Mthembu, revealed that Athabile was abducted by two men in a taxi on June 6 while waiting at a taxi stop, held captive, forced to take drugs, and released on the third day. Mthembu shared the family’s grief, saying, “We are deeply saddened by what happened to Atha. What saddens us more is that the suspects are continuing with their lives like nothing happened.” Athabile’s suicide note, found by the family, chillingly detailed her ordeal: “I can’t live with this pain anymore. I was kidnapped, drugged, and raped by different men over three days. The shame and fear are too much. I name [suspect names redacted] as the taxi rank worker and conductor who started it. I hope my family finds peace.”
One suspect works at the Maphephetheni taxi rank, and the other is a taxi conductor, yet no arrests have been made despite evidence being handed to the police, leading Mthembu to lament, “We feel the police are letting us down. They keep saying they are still investigating or ignore us. We don’t know what they are investigating.” The chairperson of Civil Society in Durban, Nokuthula Cele, echoed this frustration, expressing sadness and anger over the incident, noting it’s one of many in Maphephetheni. She highlighted the community’s fear, saying, “As parents, we’re now afraid to send our children to the shops,” and criticized the support perpetrators receive from families and traditional healers who provide muthi to sway cases, urging, “Traditional healers should stop giving muthi to suspects to win cases. That undoes our work as anti-GBV activists.” The slow DNA test results further complicate justice, fueling community outrage at 05:22 PM SAST on July 15, 2025.
On Tuesday, learners and community members marched from the sports ground through the Maphephetheni taxi rank, where the suspects work, to the Inanda police station, blocking taxis to protest the lack of action. Cele stressed the ongoing struggle, “We’ve come here several times about incidents of this nature. The problem is we don’t see justice being done. We only see action when we get involved as organisations fighting gender-based violence.” The rural Maphephetheni area, known for its blood-curdling incidents, now stands united in demanding closure, with the family and activists pushing for accountability as the police investigation drags on without visible progress, leaving Athabile’s note as a haunting call for justice.
